PEORIA — The poetic musings of retired Journal Star columnist Jerry Klein will be celebrated during "Seasonings" at the Peoria Riverfront Museum on Feb. 9.

"January's shadowy stillness . . . we wait for January to pass by, but it will not go easily or quickly. Its very presence, in fact, somehow demands that we pay attention, that we acknowledge its bare symmetry, its very simplicity. It takes some effort to appreciate January, but the results are worth it." Jerry Klein, 2007.

"His writing has always been so exquisite," said Roberta Koch, director of "Seasonings." "I got the idea a couple years ago to do a reader's theater of his work."

Six performers will read excerpts of Klein's work focusing on the four seasons. Photographs of local scenery by Dr. Joe Couri will be projected onto the big screen during the reading. The event is a fundraiser for the Peoria Historical Society.

During his 55-year career at the Journal Star, Jerry Klein wore many hats. He edited copy, wrote editorials, covered the local arts scene and reviewed hundreds of performances. He also wrote a Sunday column on a number of topics — a favorite was the beauty of the ever-changing weather in central Illinois.

"All the text is taken directly from his columns and essays," said Koch. "We decided to call it 'Seasonings' because it's looking at the four seasons and living here in central Illinois."

Koch, 64, who started reading Klein's columns when she was in her 30s, clipped and saved hundreds of them. She used her stash to compile favorite passages.

"My first copy of the show would have been six hours long if I had kept it all in there, so I had to do some major editing," said Koch. She got a lot of help from Klein, who plans to attend the show. The show's title is the result of some newly-written work.

"I said 'Jerry, do you have any columns where you talk about the four seasons all at once?' " said Koch. "Later he came in with this paper entitled 'Seasonings.' It was a beautiful take on living in an area that has all four seasons. He said 'I just decided to write this last night since I didn't want to look through all my writings.' "

Like many long-time community theater enthusiasts, Koch has a special relationship with Klein, who wrote reviews of many of the shows she directed. She's been friends with him for years. But in addition, Klein's columns always spoke to Koch.

"He would always take something rather small and insignificant and look at it with different eyes," she said. Koch remembers one column written in 2005 or 2006, which became a particular favorite.

Page 2 of 2 - "I was fussing about something on a winter day when I sat down to read Jerry's column," she recalled. "He was writing about the beauty of a winter sunset, seeing the orange glow through the bare trees. It was really very touching. It settled me down for that particular day, and the next time when there was one of those winter sunsets, I did just that — I sat down and watched the sun go down."

Leslie Renken can be reached at 686-3250 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter, @LeslieRenken, and subscribe to her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken.